Objective:

Design an experiment that tests whether or not playing video games affects on-road performance. The goals of this project are:

To learn if playing video games affects driving skills.

To encourage responsible behavior in teens and young adults.

Research Questions:

What skills are practiced when playing video games?

What skills are used when driving an automobile?

How do insurance companies and law enforcement define a “clean” driving record?

It's been said that video game playing improves hand-eye coordination. If this is true, could playing video games also improve performance at other activities that require the same types of skills? This project is designed to help answer that question.

Create three groups of volunteers: Find 20 volunteers who do NOT play video games. Find another 20 volunteers who play video games regularly, including “driving” games, the kind that require the player to operate a virtual vehicle. Find 20 more volunteers who play video games regularly, but few or no driving games. Ideally, all volunteers should have at least three years of on-road driving experience.

Find out from each volunteer the number of moving or parking violations (tickets) received during 2010.

Also find out the number of accidents in which the driver was involved during 2010. Accidents include any unintentional impact of a moving vehicle with any other object. Record all collisions, including minor fender benders, regardless of circumstances like who was at fault.

Analyze your data.

Interpret your findings in a detailed statistical report.

Include photos, diagrams and demonstrations in your science fair display.

Internet searches of your choosing. Search words or terms listed here, or make up your own phrases. Click on any results you find interesting. Have fun surfing the net!

Judee Shipman is a Bay Area Educational Consultant and professional writer of quality educational materials. Her recent writing credits include Top50States.com (a popular and entertaining website about states), and a book called The Portable Chess Coach (Cardoza, 2006), currently available in stores.

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